Shortly after he returned from his UN meeting, President Barker’s press secretary, Julie Edmond, strode into the reception area of the Oval Office. Her brunette hair, streaked with random ribbons of blonde, curled around her soft face and the collar of her white, long-sleeved blouse, which was tucked into a slim forest green skirt.
“Hi, Alicia,” she said. “Any chance I can see the president on short notice? Got some news for him.”
“Let me check.” Alicia buzzed through to the president and asked if he had time to see Julie.
“Sure,” he answered. “Send her in.”
Julie went through the door and walked up to the president’s desk.
“What have you got, Julie?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Marty Kert just issued a press release. Thought you might like to read it.”
“Just read it to me, will you please?” The president sighed, and Julie noticed how tired he looked. She pulled a print-out from her briefcase and read: “My fellow Texans, I know the concerns many of you have about the statements made by ex-President Jackson, and I assure you he does not speak for the current Texas administration, nor for anyone in authority in Washington. He is speaking as a concerned citizen who happens to have the press hanging on every word because of his status as ex-president. But his words carry no weight whatsoever with anything we’re concerned with. Let’s not make a mountain out of a mole hill. Thank you all for your patience and understanding.”
“Okay, Julie, thanks for bringing this to my attention,” President Barker said. “I’ll get some of my Cabinet and close advisors together to discuss the situation. When we get everyone together, I’ll want you and Duncan here as well. I’ll have Alicia call both of you when it’s time.”
“Thank you, sir,” Julie said, and she headed back to her office.
The president buzzed Alicia. “Alicia, please get my core advisory group together for a meeting in about thirty minutes, please.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll take care of that,” Alicia said.
Thirty-five minutes later, everyone, including AG Ralph Smart and Senator Frank Mitchell, gathered in the Oval Office. The president walked around his desk and stood facing them. “Julie, would you please read President Kert’s news release to the group?”
Julie read the news release again, then stood against the back wall.
“We’re dealing with former President Corbin Jackson, a tired and bitter old man who I think sees his ‘legacy’ being unfairly tarnished because the separation of Texas happened on his watch,” Barker told them. “We need to assure people that Texas will handle its own affairs, and we have to trust they will handle them appropriately.”
He looked around the group. “We have to calm the waters here and in Texas. These statements by Corbin Jackson don’t seem to be anything but hot air, but they could cause some serious confusion and antagonism among citizens of both countries.” He paused, and let his gaze rest on each of them. “What are your suggestions, other than having this idiot assassinated?”
While everyone laughed a little nervously, no one was sure he was joking.
Harold Barker had been in the political game long enough to realize that his election victory came about largely because of the public’s perception that Jackson had bungled the whole Texas affair.
Julie Edmonds said, “I think you should call him in, sir. Ask him what is going on and what his purpose is, I mean. There may be far more to this than ignorance or bitterness, and we really need to know what’s going on with him.”
Most of the people in the room nodded, but then Attorney General Smart said, “In my opinion, we are making more of this than it is. President Jackson is a little unbalanced, if you ask me, and he has no real purpose at all, other than trying to reclaim his lost glory. Even acknowledging him will only lend credence to his wild claims. I say we just leave it alone.”
When no one else added anything, President Barker ended the meeting by saying, “I’m going to talk to Marty Kert and then decide where we go from there. Please be as available as possible in case I have questions. I’ll keep you all informed of my decision.”
The group, murmuring to one another, left the room. As Barker walked them to the door, he noticed Kimberly Himmel from DOE in the waiting room and waved her in.
“What’s on your mind, Kimberly?” he asked.
“Well, sir, the damage done in the computer break-in seems to be far more extensive than we first believed. Passwords for more than a thousand employees and contractors were compromised, and almost all their accounts have been accessed. We have no idea what the goal of the hackers is, or was, and we’re still trying to find out who it was exactly,” she told him.
“I assume this has now been confirmed to include nuclear materials and renewable technologies; is that right?”
“It’s strange, sir, but even though that info could have been had with a few keystrokes, the hackers don’t seem to have been interested. Storage facilities codes for enriched uranium, various isotopes, ores, and everything else was right there, and they weren’t even opened as far as we can tell. They could have accessed shipping schedules and routes, but they didn’t even bother to look.”
“If this was just nerds playing around, they would have focused on those things for shock value, if nothing else. These files are some of the most secure we have. Whoever did this must be extremely sophisticated or have someone on the inside helping them, right?”
“That’s the way we see it, Mr. President. Not only for them to get in, but to cover their tracks on the way in and out is very difficult indeed. Some of the sharpest minds in the tech world developed the security for those files.” She looked up at him. “We’re working very hard to find the culprits, and we have some of those same top computer minds working on this.”
“Most governments, especially those in China, Russia, and the Middle East, would be far more interested in the stuff these guys didn’t take than the stuff they did. None of this makes any sense at all, does it?” asked Barker.
“Not so far, sir, but it’s early in our investigation.”
“I’ve got a feeling we need to get to the bottom of this quickly, Kimberly. When someone goes to this much trouble, and risks so much politically for something that makes no sense to us, it must mean a hell of a lot to them. And the fact that we don’t know why scares the heck out of me.”
Kimberly nodded. “Me, too, sir.”
“Get all hands on deck for this project and let’s figure it out, Kimberly. Use whatever resources you need.”
“We’re on it, sir,” she said. “I’ll keep you posted.”